What Is Faculty Development? (Faculty Training)
Faculty development is the planned, ongoing work of helping educators strengthen their teaching, assessment, disciplinary, digital, research, and leadership skills. It connects faculty learning to student needs and an institution’s goals. It may include training, mentoring, peer feedback, or course-design support, but no single credential or workshop count is required everywhere.
A new course can feel like a room full of switches: learning platforms, assessment rules, accessibility needs, and unfamiliar policies. Faculty development helps educators understand and use those tools in ways that support learning. It also helps institutions respond to changes in their programs, students’ needs, and disciplinary expectations.
The term can sound like it means a one-time workshop. In practice, effective faculty development is broader and more deliberate. It starts with a need, sets a clear goal, supports a change in practice, and checks whether that change helped. As an academic advisor, I have seen how this distinction matters: a sign-in sheet shows who attended, but not what they learned or applied.
Faculty Development Programs: Purpose, Models, and Institutional Context
Faculty development is an organized process for helping instructors and other educators build skills throughout their careers. It supports teaching, assessment, research, digital practice, and leadership. A strong program reflects the institution’s mission, the needs of its students, and the work faculty are expected to do.
What does faculty development include?
The term covers more than classroom teaching. Depending on the role and institution, development may focus on:
- Course planning and teaching methods
- Assessment design and feedback
- Accessibility and inclusive course materials
- Learning technologies and online teaching
- Academic integrity and student support
- Discipline-specific knowledge and research
- Program leadership, mentoring, or advising
Faculty development may take place through workshops, coaching, peer observation, learning communities, or individual course-design support. The best format depends on the goal. A workshop may introduce a teaching method; a colleague’s feedback may help an instructor adapt it to a specific class.
Why do institutions invest in it?
Institutions use faculty development to help educators meet teaching and program goals, respond to changes in their fields, and improve course design. It can also help faculty understand new policies or tools. The purpose is not to suggest that every instructor has the same needs. A new instructor, a clinical educator, and a senior professor may need different kinds of support.
Accreditation is part of the institutional context, but it does not create one universal faculty-development certificate. Under 34 CFR § 602.16(a)(1)(i), recognized institutional accreditors must assess whether an institution’s curricula support its stated objectives. Accreditor standards also address faculty qualifications. The exact criteria can vary by accreditor, program, course level, and discipline.
CHEA recognizes accrediting organizations; it does not accredit individual faculty members or institutions. Institutions should check their current accreditor standards and their own faculty-qualification policies before setting requirements.
Common development models
| Model | What it involves | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Workshop | A focused session on a skill or topic | Faculty need a shared introduction |
| Mentoring | Ongoing guidance from a more experienced colleague | A faculty member needs role-specific support |
| Peer observation | Colleagues observe and discuss teaching | The goal is feedback on classroom practice |
| Course-design support | Help with objectives, materials, activities, or assessments | A course is new or being revised |
| Learning community | Faculty meet over time to explore a shared topic | Practice needs sustained discussion and testing |
These models can work together. The key question is not which format is most popular, but which one fits the stated need. Takeaway: Treat faculty development as a continuing process, not as a synonym for attending a workshop.
Faculty Training Curriculum, Required Competencies, and Evaluation
A faculty training curriculum is the set of learning opportunities an institution plans around specific educator needs. It may include teaching, assessment, accessibility, academic integrity, technology, and discipline-based training. The curriculum should define intended outcomes, offer suitable support, and explain how the institution will review results.
How should an institution identify training needs?
Start with evidence, not assumptions. Useful sources may include course evaluations, peer review, student-learning data, faculty self-assessment, program reviews, and changes in disciplinary or regulatory expectations. Each source has limits. For example, student feedback can point to concerns, but it should not be treated as the only measure of teaching quality.
A practical sequence is:
- Diagnose: Map institutional and program goals. Review faculty needs, student-learning evidence, accreditation requirements, and available resources.
- Design: Choose priorities and define observable outcomes. Decide who will facilitate the work, how it will be delivered, and how participation will fit faculty workload.
- Implement and document: Offer relevant training or support. Record participation and, where appropriate, examples of resulting practice changes.
- Evaluate and improve: Compare evidence with the intended outcomes. Identify gaps, revise the program, and adjust resources as needed.
What should faculty training cover?
Training should match faculty roles and course needs. An institution might offer a shared foundation in assessment and accessibility, then provide more targeted support in clinical teaching, online course design, research supervision, or program leadership.
A learning outcome should describe something a participant can demonstrate. “Understand assessment” is hard to measure. “Revise an assignment rubric so it aligns with stated course outcomes” is more observable. That does not mean every development activity must produce a document. It means the goal should be clear enough to guide the activity and its review.
How can institutions evaluate faculty development?
Attendance and satisfaction surveys can tell an institution who took part and how participants viewed an activity. They cannot, by themselves, show that teaching improved or that students learned more. Evaluation should also look for evidence that faculty applied what they learned.
| Evaluation point | Example evidence | What it can show |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Attendance or completion record | Who engaged with the activity |
| Immediate response | Participant feedback | Whether the activity seemed relevant |
| Application | Revised course materials or assessment practices | Whether a participant used the learning |
| Course or program results | Student-learning evidence or course-quality review | Whether relevant outcomes changed |
| Follow-up | Later peer review or course review | Whether a practice was sustained |
These are possible measures, not universal thresholds. Institutions should choose measures that fit the goal, protect appropriate privacy, and avoid claiming more than the evidence supports. Takeaway: Set the outcome first, then decide what evidence could reasonably show progress.
Academic Success, Faculty Support, and the Teaching Experience
Faculty support is the practical help educators receive as they apply new skills in real courses. It may include consultation, mentoring, peer feedback, accessible materials, or time to revise a course. The aim is to make development usable, rather than leaving faculty to translate a general workshop into practice alone.
What does useful support look like?
Training is more likely to connect to teaching when faculty can get help after the session. An instructor who learns about accessible course materials, for example, may still need time and guidance to review readings, slides, and assignments. A faculty member changing an assessment may need a colleague to discuss whether the new task measures the intended learning outcome.
Institutions should make the practical terms clear:
- What support is available, and who can use it?
- Is participation required, encouraged, or voluntary?
- How much time should faculty expect to spend?
- Is funding, course-release time, or workload recognition available?
- Are materials accessible to participants with different needs?
- How will the institution follow up?
These are recommended design questions, not universal accreditation rules. Clear answers help faculty decide how to take part and help institutions plan realistic programs.
Illustrative implementation scenarios
The following are examples of how a development process might work. They are not reports of specific institutions.
Scenario 1: A course has unclear assessment alignment. Faculty review the course outcomes, assignment instructions, rubric, and student work. A development session introduces ways to align these pieces. The instructor revises an assignment, then reviews later student work against the stated outcomes. The useful evidence is the alignment and the learning evidence, not just session attendance.
Scenario 2: A program is moving courses online. Faculty receive support in course design and learning technology, then test revised materials with colleagues. Follow-up may check whether students can find instructions and complete planned activities. Technology use alone does not establish that a course is effective.
Scenario 3: New instructors need role-specific guidance. A department pairs mentoring with practical sessions on local teaching expectations and available student-support services. The institution can review participation and ask whether the support helped new faculty carry out identified tasks. It should not assume one model fits all departments.
What should faculty members ask?
Before joining a program, ask how it connects to your role and what it expects you to do afterward. If a training is tied to a policy or credential requirement, ask for the written rule and its source. A clear answer should distinguish institutional policy from a recommendation or optional opportunity.
Takeaway: Follow-up support turns ideas into practice. Make time, access, and expectations part of the plan.
Faculty Career Pathways, Promotion, and Employment Outcomes
Faculty development can support career growth by helping educators build skills needed for their current or future roles. It may contribute to teaching, research, service, or leadership work. However, development does not guarantee promotion, a job, or a particular evaluation result; those decisions depend on the institution’s policies and role-specific criteria.
How does development relate to promotion?
Promotion standards vary by institution, discipline, and appointment type. Some roles emphasize teaching, others research, clinical practice, service, or a combination. Faculty should consult the applicable appointment, promotion, and evaluation policies rather than assume that a certificate or workshop carries the same weight everywhere.
Development can still help faculty prepare. A mentoring program may clarify expectations. Course-design support may help an instructor document a teaching change. Leadership training may build skills for a program role. Whether such work counts in a review depends on the institution’s stated criteria.
How should institutions recognize participation?
Recognition may include workload planning, funding, time, or acknowledgment in a review process. Institutions should state what recognition means and avoid implying that optional training is a formal employment requirement. If a program is required, the policy should identify who must complete it, by when, and how completion is documented.
Takeaway: Use development to build relevant skills, but check local policies for how those skills and activities are considered in career decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Faculty Development
What is faculty development in simple terms?
It is ongoing support that helps educators improve skills for teaching, assessment, research, digital work, or leadership. It can include training, mentoring, peer feedback, and course-design help.
Is faculty development the same as faculty training?
Faculty training is one part of faculty development. Training often focuses on a specific skill or topic, while development can include longer-term learning, feedback, practice, and career growth.
Is faculty development required for every professor?
There is no single requirement that applies to every faculty member at every institution. Requirements depend on institutional policy, role, program, discipline, and applicable accreditor standards.
Do accreditors require a faculty-development certificate?
Do not assume they do. Accreditor standards address areas such as faculty qualifications and educational quality, but requirements vary. Check the institution’s current accreditor standards and faculty policies.
Does CHEA accredit faculty members?
No. CHEA recognizes accrediting organizations. It does not accredit individual faculty or institutions.
How can an institution tell whether training worked?
It can compare the activity’s stated goals with evidence of application, such as revised course materials or assessment practices. Student-learning or course-quality evidence may also be relevant. Attendance alone is not proof of impact.
Are student evaluations enough to measure teaching?
They can provide useful feedback, but they are only one source of evidence. Institutions may also consider peer review, course materials, learning outcomes, and other measures suited to the question.
What are examples of faculty development activities?
Examples include workshops, mentoring, peer observation, learning communities, course-design consultation, and discipline-specific training. The right activity depends on the skill or need being addressed.
Can faculty development help with promotion?
It may help faculty build and document skills relevant to their roles. Whether participation or resulting work counts toward promotion depends on the institution’s written review criteria.
What should I ask before signing up for faculty training?
Ask what you should learn or produce, how much time it takes, whether it is required, what support is available, and how completion or results will be reviewed. If it is mandatory, request the policy.
(This article was written by one of our staff writers, Nathan Sterling. Visit our Meet the Team page.)
